Orbs of Magic
by brittaperry
Summary: AU in which I basically re-write the story with more romance and smut and swearing. This isn't so much of an AU, as much as it is just me forgetting what exactly happened and I also take the opportunity to write everything all over again. Mel/Edward; Te'ijal/Galahad; Stella/'OC'Lowel. Also, I DO NOT own Aveyond. If I did, all of this would've happened in the games.
1. A night of mayhem

_Before I begin, I just want to say that the reason this is an AU fic is because: one, I thought of experimenting and who knows, I might like making stuff up completely out of the blue even more after this, two – I almost completely forgot what genuinely happened in the games and three – I actually haven't played all of them. I just can't connect some of the happenings chronologically, but I remember most of 'Lord of Twilight' and a bit from 'Gates of Night'. And while this will still have the basis of the plot (at least as much as I can remember it), it will also have a lot of stuff I've made up… which really, is what writing fanfiction is, especially AU fics… so yeah. And I will be re/playing the games whilst writing, so some of this may be as true as you remember it to be. I'm sorry for the dorky introduction. Anyway, live long and prosper. _

The door slammed open. '_Mel'_ Boden thought '_Excellent thief, very bad house guest._'

"Come on in, make yourself at home." he said sarcastically.

"Now, now, Boden. I know you have a task for me. What is it?" Mel entered and closed the door with a slick grin on her face.

"We- I mean, _you,_ have a client tonight. He's waiting at Clockwork Manor balcony as we speak."

"The fancy place uphill with all the stuffy clockspeople?"

"It's in the name, Mel."

"Who delivered the message?" the girl got closer to the desk and leaned against it with her hands.

"Sony. I sent her out to clarify, there's no catch."

"If you sent Sony out than this is a very … _expensive_ mission." She raised her eyebrows and heard him let out a sigh.

"A hundred, _gold_. Ninety, after I've had my share."

"That much? For what?"

"A family heirloom." He said. She waited for him to continue.

"That's it?" he shrugged at her words.

"Get it done. You're gaining a reputation, kid. Get used to it."

"Trust me, I am." Mel turned around to walk out of the house. She was at the door again when the chief's voice caught her attention.

"Be safe."

"Sure thing, Boden." She sent a wicked grin in his direction. Moments later, she was out the door, getting ready for a whole night of fun.

Mel set out to walk around Harburg. She could see Clockwork Manor from where she was, but there was a bit more walking involved to get to it. Once at the front gate, the girl searched through her pockets. Her right hand caught what she was after.

"Dear ol' Mimi." She smiled at the picklock in her palm. Quietly, Mel entered the manor. With swift and silent movements, she managed to get up to the balcony. Three hooded figures stood there, their shadows reflecting on the warm stone below.

"Are you the thief we requested? _Mel?_" she couldn't tell which figure was speaking, but as the red-hooded one stepped forward, it became clear.

"That's right. I'm Mel. So, what is this … _heirloom_ you want?" she tried to seem more confident, hiding the fact that the three figures gave her icy chills.

"It's an orb. Nothing more, nothing less. All you have to do is go to Darkthrop Reep and get it for us."

"Darkthrop?!" Mel exclaimed. "No fucking way I'm going near that haunted house! Sorry, gentlemen, I can't be of service to you."

"We'll double the price. Make it two hunder gold. Half now, half when you return."

"You must _really _want this orb…" she mumbled under her nose. "Alright. You've got a deal." She reached her hand out as the hooded figure threw a small bag her way. It gave away a metallic sound as it fell in her hand. "Ahh." Mel said softly.

"Return by dawn."

"What if I don't?"

"That's not an option!"

"You better be here when I come back, with my money. Or else I'll just keep the stupid orb to myself."

"Don't push your luck, kid."

* * *

'The sewer. Perfect.' She reached for the bars. After a moment, they were moved out of her way. 'Do I smell rats? Dinner, here I come!' Mel thought, a grin on her face. She jumped. All she could hear now was the sound of the canal water running through the pipe and falling down the unstable sewer ponds. She started walking along the moss-covered stone bridge that soon led her to a few long corridors. There was a switch on one of the walls.

"Let's see what you do." She said as she pulled the red handle down. There was a *click* sound and as she continued to walk along the corridor, she saw a metal barred door. 'Hmm, that's not the switch we needed.' Walking a little more, she stumbled upon five holes in the stone. Mel stepped over them, five spikes momentarily appearing in the place her feet were moments ago. 'Fuck.' She thought. 'I'm trapped.' Soon, she noticed another switch on the wall and in the corner of the hall, a shining pentagram with a note placed beside it. The girl flipped the switch and heard the sound of the barred door opening. 'That's good, but how do I-' at the corner of her eye, she spotted a large black boulder. It was blocking her way out. 'I'll just read the note first.' She thought.

" '_Emergency exit' _." Mel read aloud. "Hmph." She let out.

Using all her strength, she pushed the boulder forward so that she could move along the hall again. When it was out of her way, she kept on moving. 'Stupid fucking orb. It better be worth it.'

* * *

With silent movements, she made her way through the manor again. Being barefoot was a plus, but the rich people would be surprised by the moist footprints if they hadn't dried by the time they woke up. When she got to the balcony, the three intimidating figures were still there, none of them saying a word.

"I've got your stupid orb." She took it out of her backpack. It glowed in her hand. 'Ugh, why does it keep doing that? The first time was enough.' One of the hooded persons reached to take it from her hands. As soon at it touched his skin, the orb stopped glowing. "And the rest of my reward?" Mel asked, feeling her temper rising.

"Why, of course. Give the girl her reward." The two other figures grabbed Mel by each of her sides.

"Hey, what the hell? What are you doing?"

"Taking you home, Darkthrop descendant."

"What?! I'm not related to that crazy old sorcerer!"

"Save it for later, little girl. Let's go." The commanding figure spoke something, but Mel had no idea what it meant. She assumed it was a spell. Suddenly, a dark portal appeared on the balcony. The kidnappers were just getting ready to go through, when two arrows shot out of the blue into their necks, turning them both to dust. Mel turned around. Another person was on the balcony. A woman, Mel assumed by the sillhouette.

"Te'ijal!"

"Hello, brother." The stranger said, holding their bow up, ready to attack. "Rabbit, here!" the voice called out, somehow Mel knew that this was her cue. She didn't even know why, but she obeyed. Up close, she found out she was right. A tall, gorgeous red-haired woman was holding a weapon targeted at the kidnapper. "I suggest you hand over that orb, Gyendal. Unless you want to join your friends" The man didn't listen. Instead, he quickly lifted his right arm, summonning lightning that headed straight towards his sister. She jumped away. Quickly, the woman shot an arrow in his direction, but she was late. He had jumped through the portal. "Son of a-"

"What the fuck is going on?" yelled Mel. She didn't care if the Clockwork manor residants were to hear, she just wanted a damn explanation. "Who are you? Who's _he?_ And why is their dust on the floor?" the girl's breaths got shorter and shorter as she tried to fanthom what has just happened.

"Relax, human. My name is Te'ijal Ravenfoot. _That_ was my brother, Gyendal. Also known as The Lord of Twilight. And the dust is well… dead vampires."

"Vampires don't exist!" Te'ijal smirked at her words. She opened her mouth, revealing a pair of shiny white fangs. Mel gasped and stepped back.

"Human! Don't you dare run! This is too important."

"What do _I_ have to do with any of this?"

"Are you deaf, chosen one? You are a descendant of Mordred Darkthrop. You just played the fool because of my brother and gave him the orb tha could destroy light!" Te'ijal was getting frustrated.

"He said it was a family heirloom!"

"YES! _Your _family heirloom, not his!" Mel was speechless. Before she could even react, the vampress had grabbed her by the arm, leading her off the balcony.

"Hey, what are you-" too late. Te'ijal had jumped all th way down to the front yard of Clockword Mansion. "Don't ever do that again!" she screamed, but the woman didn't seem to notice.

"We must leave Harburg, NOW! It's best if we use the northern exit." They started walking.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"Thais. I know people there who can take care of you while I'm gone."

"You're leaving? But you just said-"

"All that's important is that _I _get _you_ safely to Thais. Once there, I'll need to go my own way for a while." Mel didn't continue the conversation. Instead, they walked, without speaking, until they reached the Harburg exit. "We go west from here."

The two spent the rest of the trip in silence. After an hour, they got to the path that led to the Thial Mountains. As Mel stepped forward to pass the exit, Te'ijal pulled her back and they both his amongst a few trees.

"Stop!" she hissed."Gyendal's henchmen." She pointed at the two vampires guarding the path. "It seems I have to make a detour. _This_ is where I leave you."

"What?"

"Listen, rabbit. Passing the Thial Mountains is not that dangerous. Take this." She got a shiny dagger out of her outfit and handed it to Mel. "There's some chickens and dragonflies, piece of cake. I need to distract _them_." The vampress pointed in the direction of the guards. "Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to find my husband."

"Your…husband? You're married?" Mel kept receiving one shocking story after another.

"It's a long story." Te'ijal sighed. "When you go to Thais, look for a man named Ulaf. He teaches at a special academy there. Give him _this _note." She put an envelope in the girl's hand. "Tell him I sent you. Got it?" Mel nodded. This was crazy, but for some reason she agreed to it. "Good. As soon as I lead those knuckleheads away, you run to the hills, okay?"

"Yes." The girl replied. Te'ijal stepped out of their hiding spot. Mel popped her head slightly from amongst the trees. She could see clearly enough for this. The vampress had kept walking and the two idiots had decided to follow her. Once they were out of sight, Mel ran. After fifteen minutes, she stopped to visualize her surroundings. She had followed Te'ijal's humourous order out for so long, she forgot to stop and orientate. 'I don't think she meant you should literally _run to the hills_, Mel' she told herself. Slowly regaining her normal breathing rhythm, she walked to the first cave she could find. As soon as she entered, she heard a wild chicken's shriek. It wasn't too dark for her to see. Mel grabbed the dagger she had hidden in her pocket and attacked.

* * *

'Thais, northeast.' She read at the wooden direction post. 'Fucking finally.'

As she walked, dawn approached. By the time she reached the city, the sun had risen above the horizon, and she could feel the warm rays of sunlight on her olive tanned skin. When she entered Thais, a wave of smells and sounds went through her body. The city was awakening and the people slowly got prepared for another day. Looking for more clues as to where Ulaf could be found, she passed by a breakfast buffet stand. Her stomach growled at the sight. 'Courtesy of the king for the people of Thais' was written on a banner and put right above the giant wooden stand where fruits, pies, cheeses, meats and bread were displayed for everyone to have. 'For free!' the thought rang in her head. Mel reached out for some bread and cheese, when one of the royal servants, who guarded the food from rats and other possible animals, turned to talk to her.

"Good morning to you." He said. Mel was so hungry she was surprised at first, she had thought the food was talking to her.

"Uhh, good morning." She mumbled.

"How are you on this fine morning?" he seemed really cheerful and not even in a sarcastic way.

"Erm, I'm fine." She took a bite out of the bread she was holding.

"Forgive me for asking this, but… are you a Thaisian?" Mel swallowed the bread. She pondered on whether to answer the truth.

"No… no, I'm not."

"It's just that usually, we don't see such beautiful girls to be looking…homeless, in our city."

"Err… thank you?" she didn't know how to respond. In Harburg, compliments were insults and vice versa. She wasn't used to being complimented sincerely.

"You're welcome. So, where are you from if you're not from here?" the older boy seemed to be very interested in her.

"Harburg. It's not far. I just walked a few hours to get here." Mel got busy biting through the cheese.

"Hmm… I see."

"Hey, wait." The girl said. "If I'm not Thaisian, does that mean that I just ate this food illegally?"

"What? No. That banner is just for sweetening up. The king wants the people of this city to feel cared for. Anyone can eat from here."

"Oh, good. Shit, for a second I was worried I'd have to puke all the food out." The boy laughed. She didn't know if it's because she swore or because of the sarcastic remark, but she enjoyed the fact that someone else except Sony and the gang thought she was funny.

"I'm Lowel." He stepped back and went around the stand to be face-to-face with her.

"Well, um, nice to meet you." She stretched her hand out to shake his. He responded, pulling her closer in the action. Mel was surprised. 'What is he doing?' "Hey, listen. Do you know where I can find this Academy? Something about Sword and Magic, I'm not sure, but-"

"Yeah, I do. It's in the southeast part of the city. You can't miss it, it's just past the Lamplight District, a few minutes from here." His dark hair laid shadows on her face and he was looking at her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. She pulled away enough to not seem rash.

"Thank you." Mel said, turning to leave.

"Wait, can I have your name before you go?"

"My name's Mel." She called out as she ran to the direction he had guided her in. 'What the fuck just happened?' she thought as she got further away from the breakfast stand. When it was out of sight, she stopped running. She put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Once her stomach was back to normal and her heartbeat wasn't as quick as a mouse's, she continued walking, until she found the bulding she needed. 'School of War and Magic' "This must be it."

She went inside. The first bearded old man she saw, she turned to.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a man named Ulaf? I was told I could find him here."

"I am Ulaf. How may I be of service?"

"Te'ijal sent me. She told me to give you this." Mel got the envelope out of her outfit and handed it to him. The old man carefully read through, but with each sentence, his eyes grew wider.

"Another one? That Te'ijal needs to learn some boundaries. " he closed the note and turned to Mel. "Alright, are you a sorcerer?" he asked.

"Err, no."

"Are you a fighter?" before she could answer, he had swung a fist at her shoulder.

"Ouch!"

"Hmm, not a fighter either. Well, I'm sorry. We have no place for you. As bad as it is to disappoint Te'ijal… we just can't accept you."

"She could be a part of Grey's group." Said a voice nearby.

"Shh!"

"Come on, mage Ulaf! It's obvious she's perfect for the job. She's skinny enough to fit anywhere and with those clothes, she could practically blend into the walls." A boy came closer.

"Oh, alright. Take her to Elazar. But any messes she causes, I will blame _you_, boy!" said Ulaf.

Mel and him walked away from the mage.

"Um, thanks." She said.

"No problem." He smiled kindly. "I'm Edward, by the way." She shaked his stretched out hand.

"Mel." There was something about him. It made her feel weak in the knees. She had no idea what this feeling was. But she tried her best to get it out of her head.

They climbed a few stairs, then walked along some corridors.

"Prof. Gray's office is close, I promise." He chuckled.

"So, are you a mage?" she asked.

"Oh, no. I'm training to become a Sword Master."

"That sounds nice."

"It's a lot of hard work. But I bet being Gray's student is even harder. Good luck, Mel." He said as they stopped. "His study just behind this door. So, I hope I see you around." Edward turned to walk away.

"Me, too" Mel replied. As she entered the professor's office, Edward couldn't help but think 'Damn it, she's really pretty' and for a moment, he felt ashamed for thinking it.


	2. Sorting out the mess

_Sorry for another one of these pre-fic monologues, I just wanted to clarify that the relationships (the OTPs, if you will) in this story are written more romantically than they genuinely happen to exist up until the end of the game series (I'm guessing). Well, at least Mel and Edward's relationship is. Te'ijal and Galahad are still on that sort of vibe that I left in the fic I wrote for the ending of the first game (I hope it comes off that way, at least). I apologize if you concider the people to be out of character, but when it comes to my OTPs, you can't stop me. And if you feel like it, tell me what you think, because I actually would love to know if someone else is reading these things. Allonsy Allonso!_

Six months passed as Mel studied under Professor Gray's guidance. She never forgot the first assignment he gave her. The small statue she had stolen from Ely Harpsbren's manor was still sitting on the desk in his quarters of the school. Mel loved being a spy. As a thief, she only had to worry about the right moment to get what she was paid to retrieve. But as a spy, her work made her feel much more alive. This, for her, was the best time of her life. One thing she could do without, though, was Lydia. That wretched girl spent her time flaunting of her nobilty, completely ignoring the academy's policy, which decreed that no one was allowed to discuss their social rank. Mel always noticed how Lydia's eye twitched when she saw her and Edward together. 'What is her problem?' she asked herself. Edward was nice. And he loved to pull pranks. Sometimes they would take trips outside of Thais to get away from the people in the city. Mel loved those. Their latest involved a picnic at the docks near Moo Hatchery. Edward remembered going there as a kid, when the king had the place up-and-running, filled with animals. Now it was just a bunch of cabins in midst of the woods.

"For a farm, this place is very quiet." Mel said as they were walking past the cabins.

"Mel, it's called a _hatchery_, it's different. And it's run down. It stopped working a few years ago when the king decided he didn't need a hatchery so far out of town anymore. But he still gets his wine from the most western point of the Isle."

"You sure know a lot about the king, Edward."

"Well, he talks a lot." They both chuckled. For a second he looked her way, but quickly averted his eyes. 'Don't think about it.' Said a voice in his head. "Hey, here's a nice spot." he exclaimed as they stopped at the pier. The hatchery was just a few feet behind them, but the bushes were so thick that it seemed like there was nothing there. They laid a blanket and sat down. Soon, they were enjoying sandwiches and watching the horizon.

"It's really nice to get away from Thais." Mel said. "That place is full of stuffy people." She laid back, now looking at the sky.

"Yeah… I know." Edward followed her example.

"How did you deal with it? You've lived here longer than me, how can you stand it?"

"Well, I just got used to it. After a while, it didn't matter anyway. I'm in the academy. All that I care about now is becoming a Sword Master."

"That's _all_ you care about?" she asked in disbelief, feeling slightly disappointed.

"When it comes to my future career, yeah. But I have a special person that I also care about very much."

"Oh, really? Who?" she was impatient.

"You, of course." The words came out of his mouth in a completely normal voice, but his insides were twisting and turning with fear. Mel's face went red, but she turned her body left so he wouldn't see.

"I care about you too." She said, her words muffled by the blanket underneath them. Edward, unaware of the truth, suspected she was about to cry. He got into a sitting position and leaned over her, catching her wrist and shifting her body, so that he could see her face. "W-what are you doing?" she asked, her face blushing even more.

"I thought you were going to cry." He replied as his cheeks too turned to crimson.

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know." They sat in the same position for a minute or so, him leaned over her, both their faces burning red.

"Hey, maybe we should-" Mel started.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." He let go of her wrist and moved to let her get up.

"No, I meant-" her words were cut off by his kiss. She was surprised at first, but didn't pull back. Instead, her left hand reached for his hair, pulling him closer to her. He shifted his body so that he was now on top of her, still kissing. After the short adrenaline rush washed away from her, Mel broke the kiss. "Wait… what are you doing!?" she called out and Edward looked at her, confused. "I don't… we-"

"Yeah, I get it. We shouldn't."

"We most definetly should not!" He moved back to his old spot, leaving her free to get up. "Listen, I'm going back to the academy. I have to meet up with Elazar." She stood up straight and just took off into the woods. He watched her leave, his head full of voices telling him how much of an idiot he was to do that. He wanted to run after her, tell her it was a mistake, but he didn't move. He waited for her to be completely out of sight and then he got up, gathering their picnic gear.

Mel passed the Lamplight District, her neighbourhood, and continued on to the path that led to her school. She went inside, quickly walking to Gray's office. The girl knocked on the door before going in, not even waiting for a response.

"Melora, come in."

"That's not my name."

"It is tonight. I have another mission for you. It involves a stunning lady named Melora Gale, firstborn heiress to a rich count in the East. I will need you to infiltrate the royal ball tonight. It is suspected that an enemy spy will be present as well. You, or more so, Melora, has to find out who he is."

"You want me to dress up rich? I despise nobles! I refuse to act like one!" Mel adored the mission, but posing as a rich snobby persona was not what she wanted.

"A spy doesn't choose their alias every time. Sometimes, we pick the one that's furthest from our heart." Mel sighed.

"I don't have a dress." She mumbled.

"Do not worry. I have taken care of that. I've bought you a ticket for the ball and reserved a gown." He slipped two pieces of paper down his desk and Mel snatched them. She growled at the thought of acting rich. 'Fuck it, just relax. It's an alias. Nothing else.'

"I'll do my best."

"When you are done, come back here and report to me."

"Of course, professor."

She exited his office, holding the ticket and receipt in her hand. Soon she was out of the school, hurrying to the gown shop. She snorted. 'That's a first'.

Dusk was approaching. With all this excitement she barely thought of her and Edward's misunderstanding earlier. When she found the place she was looking for, Mel went inside cautiously, not sure of what she would find. She heard voices as soon as she entered.

"…to send it at my father's place! As a noble, I demand to be treated with respect!"

"Of course, m'lady." The conversation was over. Mel could feel the sound of high heels, clicking on the floor, coming closer. Seconds later she was face-to-face with Lydia. 'Ah, fuck.'

"What do _you_ think you're doing here?"

"Just browsing." Lydia laughed at her words.

"Oh, please. If you wanted to, you wouldn't be able to buy anything here. Everyone knows you're poorer than the people who work at the stupid farm down south." Mel could feel her pulse rising.

"Listen, _bitch_, even if I wanted to buy anything-"

"Ladies!" the shop owner yelled at them. "Whatever your quarrell may be, for the love of the queen, take it outside!"

"You're no lady." Lydia mumbled as she turned to leave.

"I could say the same for you." Mel replied before the door slammed shut behind her.

"What do you want?" she older woman had a tone of exhaustion in her voice.

"Professor Gray sent me to pick up a dress."

"Oh, so you're…I see. Just follow me."

"Thank you, err, ma'am."

"Just call me Bea." The two walked amidst some dresses. They soon stopped at a particularly beautiful gown that was placed further off all the others. "This is what was picked out for you. Just please tell me that you like it. All of the other ball outfits are either rented out or bought up!"

"No…it's fine." She hated dresses, but she knew she would have to deal with this one. The gorgeous red fabric set it apart from the others by miles. And the gold and white laces that were sewed on didn't help her opinion either. The gown was one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. That's what made her hate it even more.

"Do you want me to ship it to your bulding or do you just want to wear it right now?"

"Ship it. Lamplight District, 2B." The girl couldn't think of walking out in that dress while the sun was still up. Dusk wasn't good enough. At least an hour had to pass until the night began.

"Alright, it will be there in a minute. Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you."

She hurried off to get out of the shop. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she thought as the walked along the pavement, heading back to her apartment. Mel decided to wait for the dress to arrive. She had just thrown her keys on her bed when there was a knock at her door.

"You're the courier?" the girl asked, slightly amused.

"It's my gown shop. I'm not sharing the money with anyone else and I'm certainly not payin' some dirty boy to hand my dresses around!" Bea was holding a pink box in her hands. "Well? Are you going to take it or not?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Mel got to her senses and reached out to take the box.

"You need to give me the receipt. For when you return the dress."

"Right. Here you go." The girl reached in her pocket to take out a small piece of crumbled paper. She hadn't even paid attention to its design. It was handwritten, with a red lace drawn above the writing. 'Classy.'

"You've messed it up!" Bea was unhappy as she took the receipt.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even look at it until now."

"I'm not surprised." The woman mumbled. "Well, fine. I'll see you in three days to get the dress back, okay?" Mel nodded. After Bea left, she opened the box and threw the dress onto the bed, over the keys. She took off her clothes and slowly got into it, trying not to damage the fabric. 'I don't want to have to pay extra for something that I hate' she said to herself. Ten minutes passed and she was still twirling around the room, looking if she had done anything wrong. When she found that the dress was in perfect shape and fitted her body well, Mel took out the mirror from behind the library shelf that she had hidden when she rented the place. Usually, she hated mirrors, but this time she needed it to make herself presentable enough in her opinion. 'I have to pass as royal-like, I might as well fake care about how I look like they do' with those thought she loosened the ribbon on her head, letting her hair fall down her shoulders. It wasn't long enough to reach her waist, but it didn't matter. She ruffled it a bit with water on her hands so that it would be spiky at the edges. Mel refused to put on any other shoes than her boots. 'Not everything has to be different. Besides, under this dress, no one will know'. Once she was ready, she looked out the window. Night had fallen. 'Let's do this.'

* * *

"Enjoy the ball, m'lady." Mel entered the castle. She now heard the music more clearly. It was a string quartette, accompanied by a flute. The girl looked around, analysing where to start off what she was sent to do. She walked around the ball room, flooded with dancing guests, but found no one looking suspicious enough. 'Yet'. She was just about to head to another room, when she felt something tugging her dress. Mel turned around to face someone she would never suspect to see here.

"Lowel?!"

"Nice to see you two, Mel." He said with a smile, pulling her closer by her dress.

"What are you doing here?" she was shocked.

"I could ask you the same thing. Did I misjudge you the first day we met? You look like a highborn lady!" he started to move around, taking her in a dance, seeing as they were the only non-dancers yet. "A very _attractive_ highborn lady, if I might add." He whispered in her ear, loud enough to outvoice the music, but not so loud as to be reachable for other ears. Mel felt like the blood was draining from her face. "Say something."

"I… I had no idea that you would be here-"

"If you did, would you have come?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Good, then I have nothing to worry about."

"What?"

"I knew you were special the moment I saw you. And I think that you and I-"

"Listen, Lowel." She pulled away from him. "Whatever it is you were going to say, just please, don't. I am here for a specific reason and I'm sorry about this, but… you don't even know me! Really, this is the second time we've talked in half a year. I have to go." Without letting him respond, she went through the crowd of dancers and snuck into the first room she saw.

It was dark. The only light was emitting from the moon outside. Mel walked towards the giant glass doors that led to the balcony, stepping quietly as a mouse. She was just about to open one, when she heard a crack. In seconds, she had turned around, holding the knife she took out of her boot in the palm of her hand.

"Mel?" a voice asked in surprise.

"Edward? Why are you dressed like that? You're the enemy spy?"

"Wait, what? No, I'm not, I'm-"

"I knew it!" the door of the room opened with a loud noise with Lowel entering shortly after.

"Lowel?" Mel and Edward said in sync.

"Wait, you know him?"

"Yes, I met him on my first day in Thais. How do you know him?"

"I'm his brother." Mel's eyes widened.

"You're his brother?" she turned to Lowel.

"He didn't tell you about me?"

"No…"

"Really, Ed? I know you're a prince, but I'm your family, too!"

"WHAT?" Mel shouted.

"You didn't tell her?"

"No, I didn't, Low!"

"Tell me what?"

"My baby brother's a prince. And the heir of Thais."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" the girl couldn't believe what was happening.

"Mel, please let me explain." Edward began.

"Fine! Talk!"

"Lowel, could you please leave?"

"Of course, the prince needs his privacy with the beautiful lady." The older brother said in a sarcastic tone, making sure he put all his strength into shutting the door loudly on his way out.

"Could you please lower the knife, Mel?" Edward asked once they were alone.

"I'm fine the way I am, thanks. Explain!"

"Let's go to the balcony." They stepped out on to the marble, the night breeze rushing into their skin. She was still holding the knife, but now she doubted she'd have to use it.

"You're a prince? And the fucking _heir of Thais_?"

"It was supposed to be him-"

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because it wouldn't matter, Mel." I didn't think you'd care about wether I was a prince or not. Plus, we're forbidden to talk about it, remember?" the girl put her knife back into her boot, secretly rubbing her eyes to remove the oncoming tears in the process.

"If you're younger, isn't he supposed to be the future king?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly.

"My father decided I was more suitable for the position, since Lowel never showed any interest."

"You don't sound happy about it."

"That's because I'm not! I don't want this. I have my days counted out until I take the throne and I don't want it! I'll be trapped here, inside the castle, forever…"

"You make it sound like a death sentence."

"It sure feels like one. They want me to get married and find a bride and… I just don't need any of it. I want your life, Mel. I want to be free." He noticed a tear rolling down her cheek. "Wait, wait, why are you crying?"

"Because you never told me! And I thought you cared about me and-"

"I do care about you! Mel, I care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone else!"

"Why did you never tell me then?" she started choking on her words, her tears falling down her face.

"Because I wanted, if there was even a possibility for us to be close, for you to like me because of _me_, not my title!" Edward reached out to cup her cheek, rubbing a tear off of it.

"You know I hate nobles!"

"That doesn't matter to me. In fact, I hate them, too." She chuckled at his words, taking back more teardrops.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked after a few moments of painful silence.

"What?"

"Today, why did you kiss me?" he looked in her eyes, trying to find the right words.

"Because I was being stupid and impulsive. I realized, after, that it wasn't okay for me to do it. And…I like you. A lot even. I admire everything about you: your arrogance, your strength, your imagination, your impulsiveness… your beauty."

"You do?" she had stopped crying, still in shock and unbelieving to what she was hearing.

"YES! And it seems my brother does as well."

"I've only talked to him twice… and honestly, he makes me uncomfortable." Mel laughed, Edward joining in. "Just don't lie to me ever again."

"I wasn't lying, it just-" he was cut off by her sudden kiss. She had grabbed the front of his royal outfit, pulling him hard, planting her lips right on his. When she let go, he was speechless, his cheeks turning crimson.

"What was that about admiring my impulsiveness?" he grinned at her, licking his lips.

At that moment, Mel saw something in the sky. She looked up, Edward repeating her movement.

"It's a meteor!" she said in surprise, watching as the giant fire ball landed somewhere near.

"Hey, it landed near the old ruins! Let's go check it out."

"I am not going anywhere in this dress. And I'm tired. AND, I still haven't found out who the spy is."

"I guess we could-"

"Shh, stop! Hide!" she whispered, quickly pushing him behind the giant potted plant in the middle of the balcony.

"What's wrong?"

"There's someone going through the queen's desk." Mel popped her head carefully from the leaves. "I think I found my spy." She said with a smirk on her face. "I have to go inside and see who it is."

"You can't!"

"Oh, trust me, I can."

"So, tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes. Tomorrow. I'll go with you."

"Great, I'll come by at your house to pick you up." Those were the final words of their conversation, as Mel swiftly passed through the slightly opened door and managed to sneak by the enemy spy, without him noticing a thing. 'Oh, Lord Wallace, you're in trouble now' she thought as she quietly exited the room, leaving Edward completely immobile until the spy decided to leave.


	3. Stella

_I am sorry about yet another pre-fic thingamajig, but for some reason, whatever reason, I am not completely 100 percent proud of this chapter. There might be a weak spot somewhere along the way. But nevertheless, enjoy it you must. (No, but really, I hope you like it)._

There was a loud knock on the door.

"Go away, Edward!" Mel grunted and tucked the sheets over her head. Another knock ensued. "Fuck's sake. Fine, I'm coming!" she yelled as she got out of bed, wearing nothing but a sleeping shirt that was long enough to reach the middle of her thighs. With force, she opened the door, finding Edward smiling and happy, as always. "Do you know what time it is?" she asked with a growl.

"It's seven in the morning-"

"_Yes, exactly!_ It's seven in the fucking morning! God, Edward, you know I like to sleep in, why are you here so early?" she rubbed her eyes.

"I couldn't wait any longer. And I wanted to see you."

"Ergh, why are you dressed like that?" she pointed at his clothes. "You practically look like a Harburgian commoner."

"I don't want people to recognize me. I always dress like that outside of school. But I suppose you never noticed, since you had no idea why I do it."

"I thought you were a _normal_person, who dressed in regular clothes. That's why I didn't say anything." She snapped at him.

"Are we going to do this again?" the smile was slowly escaping his face.

"It's too early for this. I haven't even had breakfast yet, Edward!"

"Me neither. I was too excited. But if you let me in, I'll cook something for you."

"You? Cook? _For me?_" Mel gave him a surprised look, raising her left eyebrow. He nodded energetically. "Oh, what a joyful day!" she suddenly said in a pretend dreamy voice. "The heir to the throne is going to make me breakfast." she started laughing, until Edward reached out and lifted her behind his shoulder, carrying her inside. He kicked the door as she yelled through her laughs and punched his back. "Let me down! You'll regret this, Edward." Once inside, Edward headed for the bed, where he laid Mel down, standing over her, their noses almost touching. She had cut off her laughter, now looking into his eyes, gathering up the strength to speak.

"I am going to make you breakfast. And even if it's terrible, you'll just have to deal with it."

"You don't know how to cook, little prince." She replied with a grin, trying to escape his grip.

"I'll try." He said, letting her go. Momentarily, she jumped out of the messy bed.

"I have some things in the pantry. If you waste them, I'll kill you. I don't have a lot of money, so be careful with what you pick."

"I will, m'lady." He bowed, making her eye twitch.

"Don't… just don't call me that. It makes me sick."

"Of course." He smirked. Mel sat on one of the chairs in her tiny apartment, waiting impatiently for breakfast, her eyelids still falling down and shutting her eyes from time to time. She watched Edward as he was cutting the bread, slicing the venison, grating the cheese and then getting on with chopping the lettuce.

"Hey, wait! Don't do that!" she yelled suddenly, leaping out of her chair and cutting off his movement in a second.

"Why, what's wrong?" he was confused.

"You don't chop lettuce, you idiot! You tear it. Here, like this." She grabbed the piece he was holding in his hand and started tearing it carelessly. Soon, the lettuce was all ripped in a small pile on the counter. "And give me that knife. God, do you know nothing about cutlery? This is not for vegetables, dummy!"

"Stop insulting me." He pouted, over-doing his tone to seem like he was hurt.

"Shut up, Edward." She mumbled as she took a piece of lettuce and shoved it in his mouth. The sight made her burst in laughter. After he swallowed the food, he gave her an insulted look and carried on with his cooking duties. Mel turned around and bent over the counter, staring at the wall behind Edward. The silence went on for awhile, the boy still kept cooking, making her more impatient by the minute. "Okay, what is this? Explain yourself." She snapped at him.

"It's a sandwich." He said proudly, picking up the food in his hand.

"Fine, then. Give it here." She reached out, but he pulled back.

"No. I want to feed it to you."

"Come on, are you for real?" she was beginning to get angry. He leaned in closer so that his forehead was almost pressed against hers.

"Yes, I am." Edward replied.

"Why?"

"'Cause you're very pretty when you're furious."

"You're a huge moron, has anyone ever told you that?" she said in a spiteful tone.

"I've heard it once or twice from a certain Melora Gale." He barely countained his laugh at the last two words. Mel's face went red.

"Just give me the fucking sandwish, Edward!" she screamed. Grumpily, he handed her the food he had prepared and she was quick to snatch it from him. She took a bite out of it. After a second, her facial expression changed. She spat the bite out into her hand, making a disgusted noice.

"What is it?" the grin fell off his face.

"This tastes horrible. What's in it?"

"Cheese, lettuce, venison, an egg-"

"A what?!"

"An egg?" she repeated nervously.

"A _raw_ egg?!"

"Was I supposed to do anything with it?"

"Oh my fucking-, Edward! You don't eat eggs raw! No wonder it was dripping. I thought you put mustard in it or something but… an egg? Are you serious?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"No, of course you didn't. Ugh!" she threw the sandwich into her trash bag furiously. "It seems I have no choice then. We have to go to the free breakfast buffet out in the centre. And after I eat some proper food, you are buying me new ingredients."

"Oh-okay." He just nodded. Mel opened the closet near her bed, taking out some pants and a T-shirt. She took her sleeping shirt off, not even caring that she was naked while Edward was looking at her. Once she was dressed, she grabbed the ribbon off her nightstand and quickly tied her hair around in a bow, like usual.

"Come on." She mumbled as she passed the boy to get to her boots, putting them on swiftly. He followed her out of the bulding, watching her lock the door angrily. They both quickly made their way to the centre, where the wide free buffet was spread out, just like every morning. Mel started browsing for food she desired, Edward standing close to her, not doing anything except gaze at her.

"Why don't you just come here always for breakfast?" he asked.

"Oh, hello, Mel." Said a familiar voice from behind them.

"That's why." She whisped to him, turning around. "Lowel… hi."

"Did you two work your little fight out last night?" he asked.

"Ergh, yeah, we did." Edward replied completely casually.

"Good. Then you're not mad at him anymore?"

"No, I'm not." Mel said.

"Or me, for that matter?" Lowel's voice showed his anticipation for her answer.

"No. I'm not angry at you either." He let out a sigh of relief. "We're actually not staying at the buffet. Me and Edward are on a mission, right?" she turned to him, raising her brows in expectation.

"Yes, indeed we are." He said quickly.

"Mind if I tag along, brother? I'd like to take the opportunity to talk to you both. There are some things that I haven't shared." The pair gave eachother a quick glance.

"Err, no. This trip was just for the two of us." Mel declined, shaking her head nervously.

"I see. Well, don't let _me_ keep you waiting." Even if the smile was still on his face, Lowel felt very disappointed. He told them goodbye and let them be.

* * *

As they walked through the woods, Edward couldn't help but ponder on something.

"Why do you dislike my brother?" he asked curiously. Mel was confused, thinking that if she said something wrong, he might get offended.

"I just… he's very rash. When we first met, he didn't wait five minutes before literally pulling me to him, looking ready to… rip my clothes off with his teeth if he had to. Look, he seems like a nice person, oddly enough, but he's very impulsive." She realized how hypocritical that was of her, so she tried to explain. "I mean, I am too. I know it. And you know it. Please don't take this the wrong way."

"No, I know you're right. He is impulsive. When he likes someone, he rarely hides it. Even if his feelings go away shortly afterwards, he always makes sure to act while he still has them." Edward sighed. "Wait, he wanted to rip your clothes off?" he stopped, just now processing in his mind what he had heard earlier.

"I'm not certain, but it sure looked like it." Mel chuckled. "Listen, let's not talk about this. I know he's your brother and I don't want to end up fighting with you any more than I already have, it's exhausting."

"I suppose you're right. Can I kiss you?" he asked, making her freeze for a second.

"Erm…yeah sure." He leaned in and put his lips onto hers, but quickly removing them. 'Why does it feel so awkward? We're just friends. Friends who have already kissed three times, the first of which was basically a make out, but still friends.'

"Are you okay?" he asked when he saw her puzzled expression, her eyes drifting off somewhere as she contemplated.

"No…" she said in a carried off voice, only realizing afterwards that she'd probably need to explain.

"Why? Are you hurt? Did I do something?"

"No, you didn't. It's me, it's just… I think the bits of raw egg in my stomach are starting to rebel." She lied, rubbing her belly.

"Well, I'm never cooking again." He chuckled.

"Let's just keep walking." She replied.

After half an hour they reached the ruins, not failing to notice the giant hole created in the centre.

"Wow, the meteor was huge." Edward said as they both got closer.

"Hey, I think there's- Oh my god!" Mel yelled out. "There's a girl down there. Shit!" she slided down the pit as fast as she could, running towards the body she had spotted. Edward followed, scraping his left elbow in the process. Mel quickly approached the girl, kneeling down and checking her pulse. "She's breathing, but she needs to be taken care of. _I can't believe my luck this week_." She tried picking her up but the girl had suddenly started waking. She opened her eyes slowly and for a few seconds she remained still, but quickly became aware of her surroundings as she jumped in surprise.

"Who are you?" she asked in a frightened voice.

"We're…we're citizens from nearby." Mel said. "I'm Mel… and that's Edward."

"My name's Stella. W-where am I?"

"You're near Thais. How did you get here?"

"I don't know." Stella replied in a confused tone.

"Listen, Mel. I'll take her to the temple. They'll heal her there… if anything's wrong. I think our trip today is cancelled." Edward helped Stella get up and put his arm through hers to support her in case she fell. After he started walking away, he noticed that Mel wasn't following him. "Aren't you coming?"

"Erm, no, you go ahead. I guess taking her to the priestesses is more important now. But I'll stay here and explore a little more before I head back home." She answered, slightly angry.

"I'll see you later then." He said, turning around to walk away once more.

"Bye." She mumbled.

An hour passed since Edward had gone with Stella and Mel was still sitting in the same spot at the meteor site, with her chin on her knees and her arms wrapped around her legs. She heard a noise nearby, a rumbling of leaves. With inredible speed her knife was already in her hand, she had risen up and was now looking around, waiting to defend herself from an oncoming attacker. As the leaves rumbled once more, she managed to find the origins of the noise, soon dropping her knife at the sight of Lowel, all covered in dirt.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Lowel!" she screamed. "Stop doing that! I swear, every time we've interacted with eachother in past twenty-four hours has begun with you scaring the shit out of me!" he got closer to her, grinning.

"Nice to see you again." He said.

"You followed us, didn't you?"

"Yes…and I got lost for like two hours and couldn't make out where I was." Lowel looked around, his eyes flutterring when he took a glimpse at the sun.

"Are the Pendragons badly taught or are you just born stupid?" Mel asked as she took a turn to walk past him and leave.

"Hey, listen." He pulled her closer by the arm and put his hands on her shoulders. "I just really wanted to talk to you, that's all."

"About what?" she shiverred under his hands.

"About yesterday. About the first time we met. About us, in general."

"What are you talking about? What 'us'?" she was confused and she knew she wasn't going to like the conversation that was forming.

"Of course there is. Listen. Last night, I wanted to tell you that-"

"Lowel, don't." she interrupted him, but he kept going.

"-I really think you and I are good together. You've been studying at the school my brother goes to, which must mean you're absolutely amazing at magic or fighting. It doesn't matter, but-"

"Lowel…" she began again, but he continued to speak.

"You are beautiful and I know I am not the future king, but I am still a Pendragon, and I have enough money to get us a nice place to live and-"

"Lowel! Fuck, please, just stop talking!" his mouth was shut at an instant.

"We don't know eachother!" she yelled, pushing his hands off of her shoulders. "How many times have we talked in the past six months? Four? And to be honest, the last three have all been very awkward and including this one, it makes it even worse! I mean, honestly! How much do you know about me? All you know is that I'm from Harburg and that I attend the Academy." She was furious. Not all of it was his fault, but she was getting it all out anyway. "And I'm aware of what you _think_ you're feeling. But you and me… that's not possible. We're different. Even if we barely know eachother… we're just too different. You're a noble and I'm a low-life."

"There's something else, isn't there?" he asked in a normal voice, containing his disappoinment. "You can't really be that angry with me." Mel looked at him, tears forming in her eyes. 'Twice. In less than a full day. Well done, Mel.' She told herself. "It's Edward, isn't it? You don't want to be with me, because you're in love with my baby brother."

"What? No, I'm not in love with him. I'm just … angry at him right now."

"For what? Has he upset you?"

"How can you tell?" she pointed at her face sarcastically and smiled. "This is… I'm confused about a lot of things."

"You can talk to me."

"Lowel, did you hear nothing of what I said before?"

"I did."

"Does Edward stand his ground when he commits to something?" Mel asked out of the blue.

"Yes. Quite often, too." He looked at her, her face was no longer red and her eyes weren't swelling. "You know, Mel, I don't know that little about you. Edward talked about you for months. He never mentioned your name, though, so I had no idea it was actually you."

"He talked about me?" Lowel sighed, but he knew that this was inevitable. To him, she clearly had some feelings for his brother. He realized that he wouldn't get what he wanted this time.

"Constantly." He choked on the word and took a deep breath. "So, no matter how complicated and confusing things are… I'm sure if you both just talk or something…you'll be fine. Edward's confused about a lot of things, too, sometimes, but he's a good kid."

"Thanks…" Mel said, slightly embarassed that just a moment ago she was yelling at him, and now he was giving her advice on relationships. She didn't like this change. Not because it was bad, but because it felt unpleasant to her. "I'm going to head back. It's nearly noon." 'Wow, since when is ten in the morning close to noon, Mel?' "I, erm… bye." She waved her hand back to him as she was leaving.

"Wait, I'll go with you." She stopped and turned around.

"To my house?" Mel asked, surprised.

"If you don't mind." He caught up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder again, to which she sighed.

"Okay, fine."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Edward asked Mel as they approached the entrance of the city half an hour later. "And why is Lowel with you?"

"Calm down. He just happened to be in the woods and decided to come back with me."

"Aha. Sure." Edward pulled Lowel away from Mel and scowled at him. "What are you doing?"

"Hey, come on, Eddie, relax."

"Don't Eddie me. We talked about it last night." He growled.

"Listen, she likes you. I don't know what you've done, but she's also very confused about it. I'm not going to _steal_ her from you, okay? I can tell you care a lot about her. And I don't blame you. Now go talk to her and stop telling me that _I'm_ the bad guy when at least I can admit my feelings with _words_." Lowel whispered loudly, hissing at a few points. Edward gulped. Without saying a word, he stepped away from his brother and joined the curious Mel, who had tilted her head in curiosity.

"What was that abo-" she was cut off by Edward's kiss. This time, he didn't shy away. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her ever closer, while she kept hers in the air, unaware of what she was supposed to do at a time like this. When he let go, she looked at him confused. "Okay then." Was all she said.

"Let's go to the temple. Stella's started to feel better already."

"Who's Stella?" Lowel asked, jumping in the conversation as they walked.

"We found her on the meteor site before you came along. Edward took her to the temple. I stayed."

"What did you do for an hour?"

"Oh, nothing. I looked around."

"Wait, so that was a meteor site? I thought someone had just dug up a giant whole at the ruins."

"You thought wrong, Lowel." Mel said with a smirk.

"So, when did he join you?"

"Don't know. He just jumped out of the bushes screaming 'ALIENS!' all covered in filth." The girl turned her head to look at their facial expressions. "Okay, sorry. But he did come out of the bushed covered in dirt though. He told me he got lost. So we just came back together."

"Alright, if that's what you choose to believe, Mel."

"It is, _Eddie_." He grunted.

"Don't call me that or I'll call you by your full name." her laughter ceased.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would." He leaned over so his face would be an inch away from hers and breathed the words into it.

"You know I hate my full name."

"Then don't call me Eddie. Deal, _Melody_?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. She gave him a fierce look, ready to tear the skin off his body, but contained herself at the last minute.

"Deal, Edward."

"Alright, we're here." Lowel interrupted as they reached the temple.

"You go and get Stella, we'll wait here. Don't worry, she'll recognize you." Edward said.

"Fine. Don't burn the city down without me." Mel replied as she entered through the doors, shiverring a bit.

"What did you say to her?"

"Oh come on, Ed. Nothing. We just talked about random crap that doesn't matter."

"I don't believe you."

"You're too clingy for your own good sometimes, you know that?"

"Okay, Stella. Now that I've told you my entire life story in less than five minutes, why don't you tell me about _yourself_?" Mel laughed as she and the purple haired girl came out of the temple.

"There isn't much to tell, really. I can do magic." Stella said, smiling back at Mel.

"That's… good to hear…So, this is Edward, whom… you already know." Mel stopped for a moment and shook her head, chasing some thoughts away. "And this is his brother, Lowel."

"Oh, hello." Stella said as she looked at the older brother, blushing slightly.

"H-hi." He stammered, taking her left hand and giving it a light peck.

"Oh, boy." Edward mumbled loud enough so that only Mel could hear.

"What?" she came closer so they could talk.

"I've seen that look before."

"He always has that look." They kept on whispering as they endured the sight of Stella and Lowel blushing at the sight of eachother.

"No, trust me, Mel. He had that look once when he was fifteen and he met the first 'love if his life'. I may have been twelve, but I knew that when I see that look, it means Lowel has it big time."

"But he can't, he only just met her!" she protested in a loud whisper.

"Remember what you told me he did the first time he met you?"

"Yeah, I… oh, this is even worse, isn't it?"

"Indeed."

"His heart commits really easily."

"Let's hope for his sake that Stella either feels the same way or lets him down gently."

"Would you look at her? She's redder than over-heated tomatoes!" Edward turned his head to Mel's side. He reached out and kissed her cheek.

"Nice connection."

"Shut up, Eddie."

"You wish, Melody." He smirked, as she punched his right shoulder, making him yelp, which cut Lowel and Stella's shy flirting instantly.

"Sorry…" Edward mumbled as he gripped his shoulder, wincing.

"Yeah… payback feels good." Mel grinned. 'Sooner or later you'll have to talk to him properly, Mel. You can't figure out your feelings on your own this time.' A thought passed her head and she grimaced slightly, trying to chase it away.


	4. Descendants

"Soon, we shall have control over the entire human race!" screams of approval echoed throughout the church.

"Wife, we best leave before they find us." Galahad said, hoping the screaming vampires wouldn't notice.

"Indeed, husband." Te'ijal nodded and they both left as the crowd continued to cheer on the vampire on the church platform. The couple quickly sneaked through Ghed'r ahre. They were just about to leave the city when they heard a voice calling from behind them.

"Te'ijal!"

"Thomas. What is it?" she hissed at him.

"I just wanted to tell you, if you're looking forward to leaving to the Overworld, you should know the password's been changed."

"Changed to what!?" Galahad exclaimed.

"_Slime_." Thomas said.

"Don't you people ever use normal words for passwords?" the paladin mumbled with irritability.

"Hush, husband. And Thomas, thank you. I'm glad you stopped us. _But_ don't _ever_ do it in public like _that _againor I you will be dead, _permanently!_" she threatened, making the white haired young vampire frighten.

"O-of course, Te'ijal, of course." He quickly replied, stutterring.

* * *

"Honestly, wife, why are your people so opposed to average passwords?" Galahad asked once they had left the city.

"Now now, Galahad. They're _your _people too. Even if you barely look like it, you're a vampire." She smiled at him. "And there is nothing wrong with the words we use as passwords."

"_Of course, _wife." He extended the first two words, putting emphasis on his sarcastic tone.

"Listen, hus-" she stopped mid-sentence. A few ugly forest slimes had surrounded the vampire couple. "I thought these were rare…oh, well, killing them won't make their species suffer the numbers anyway." She took out an arrow from the bag on her back and with her bow, pointed it right towards one of the silme creatures. The arrow shot through it, pinning it to a nearby tree. Galahad sliced the rest with his sword, covering it with green slime. The fight was over so quickly that Te'ijal regretted even wasting her arrow. "Next time, I'll let you slice them all down. Even if I have an endless amount of arrows I still don't enjoy shooting them pointlessly." Galahad sighed and wiped his sword off with some leaves. They walked a few more minutes and soon they were at the exit of the Underworld.

"Password." Said the guard in front of the cave.

"Slime." Te'ijal replied. The Undead in front of them vanished, letting them pass through. "Let us leave, husband. My rabbit is in Thais and I cannot let Gyendal get to her."

* * *

"I'll be heading out, Stella." Lowel said, kissing her forehead. "See you tomorrow, alright, sweetheart?" the girl blushed.

"Bye, Lowel." She said nervously.

"See ya', Mel."

"Yeah, bye, Lowel." The boy left the temple, leaving Mel and Stella alone at the sleeping wing with the rest of the priestesses. Once he left, Mel turned to Stella. "Wow, you two are really going for it, aren't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've only known eachother for two days and don't think I didn't notice the way he looked at you when you met. He's really head over heels, isn't he?"

"You think so?" Stella giggled. Mel nodded in response. "What about you and Edward?"

"Me and Edward?"

"Yes, you two seem so in love!"

"Let's not get carried away here, Stell."

"No, but really. I've seen the way he looks at you, too. You're lucky, Mel." Stella took one of the girl's hands into both of hers and giggled again.

"Stell, listen-"

"Mel, come on!" she gave her a look. "Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't feel for him." Mel stuck her tongue out at Stella, making the girl roll her yes.

"You've known us both for two days as well."

"That doesn't mean that I can't tell when two people are in love."

"Oh, god, stop!" she shaked her head, chasing images out of it. "It's complicated."

"If you say so."

"Look, it's getting dark. I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow. Elazar Gray said I have another week off before he gives me my next assignment, so we can go out of Thais and explore again.

"With Edward and Lowel?" she raised her eyebrows in expectation.

"Fine, okay. With the Pendragon nitwits, sure."

"Oh, Mel…"

"Bye, Stella." She turned to leave quickly out of the temple.

Mel walked around, trying to find the route to go back to the Lamplight District. 'Half a year spent here and I still get confused. Pssht, this city is barely as big as Harburg.' she thought, climbing some stairs to cross through the centre. It was dark. Not dark enough for the lanterns to be on, but enough for the citizens to be inside their homes, having dinner with their families and friends. Mel had almost reached the second stairwell when she saw them. 'Vampires.'

"Shit" she mumbled as she tried to hide. Unfortunately, one of them had spotted her. He quickly got to her, grabbing her arm. "Let go of me!" she yelled, but his fingers dug deeper into her skin. Mel tried to escape, but the three vampires had surrounded her now, ready to attack her if she were to try anything else. She wanted to let out a scream, hoping for someone to come and help her, but no sound came from her mouth. Instead she stood there, in the clutches of three horrifying creatures, who looked like they would rip her head off, let alone her arm if they had to. Suddenly, water splashed over them. Standing there was Stella, in a sleeping gown, holding a small blue vial. In moments the vampires had turned to dust and Mel was free. She hadn't even felt the tears falling down her cheeks. Tears, completely brought up by fear and helplessness. She tried to lift her right hand to wipe them off, but she couldn't. Her arm hurt really badly. From her elbow to her shoulder, it was coverred in bruises. The vampire that had caught her had squeezed it so tight that it was now swollen, some parts of it even bleeding.

"Mel, are you okay?"

"I… I'm f-fine. Are the priestesses still awake? I need to-"

"Say no more. I'll do it. Right now." Stella cut her off,

"You?"

"I told you I could do magic, didn't I?"

"Yes, but-"

"I'm a healer. Not just a mage. Now, this will hurt, but you have to move your arm up a little." Mel winced. She slowly began to lift her bruised limb, until Stella told her to stop. The healer closer her eyes and slowly began to move her hand around the wounds, slightly touching the skin once in a while, making Mel's eye twitch. Red light started emitting from her hands and Mel could feel it sinking into her arm. Ten minutes passed and the two were still standing at the stairwell, Stella completely focused on her spell. When she was done, she let go and opened her eyes. "Listen. I don't know how hard he squeezed your arm, but I'll need to do this a few more times for it to heal completely. Unfortunately, there will be a scar left. And magic doesn't heal scars, I'm sorry."

"No, thank you. Relieving the pain was enough. I'll do it as many times as you feel comfortable. I owe you, Stell." Mel chuckled. Stella reached out and hugged her, carefully leaving out the hurt arm from her grip.

"I'm going to come with you to your home." She said.

"Oh, no, Stell, don't. Go back to the temple and sleep. I'll be fine."

"No, Mel, I'm putting my foot down. I'll come with you."

"Where will you sleep? I don't have an extra bed."

"I'll sleep on the floor, silly. I want to make sure that you don't bruise your arm more… or run away." She raised her eyebrow.

"Why are you so nice to me? We don't even know eachother that well yet…"

"You found me in the woods. Who knows what might've happened if you hadn't. I owe you, too."

"You don't… And where did you find that water?"

"The Holy Water? Oh, it was in your bag. Speaking of which, here it is." She showed Mel the straps hanging from her shoulder. "I wanted to return it to you. But I'll carry it for the time being."

"I don't remember taking Holy Water with me when I came to visit you. Or ever, actually." Mel mumbled.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Stella said, taking the girl's left hand in hers.

* * *

"Te'ijal!" Mel called out in disbelief and a grin settled in her face.

"Rabbit. You're alive."

"And bruised, by the looks of it." Galahad added.

"I can see, husband. My twenty year-old eyes are still working fine."

"You were twenty when you were turned?" he asked.

"Yes. But that is not important-"

"Erm, so this is your husband?" Mel stepped in before things got out of hand.

"Yes, rabbit. This is Galahad. He was a paladin to the Pendragons over two hundred years ago."

"The Pendragons?"

"Indeed. They were good people. Remember what you said at their wedding, wife?"

"I do, Galahad, but it's not my fault." Te'ijal sighed. "I'll get right to the facts, little one. Gyendal is planning to attack soon. He needs to find you first."

"He already has."

"What?"

"I got attacked by three vampires half an hour ago. That's why my hand is bruised. He's found me."

"He's faster than we thought. I knew we should've been quicker. It took us four days to come here… Listen, rabbit. We heard him speak of another orb. The Orb of Light. It is said that it's in Naylith."

"Naylith?" Stella asked, interrupting their conversation. "I've heard of there."

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Te'ijal acknowledged her existence for the first time since she and Mel had stepped inside the bulding.

"I'm Stella."

"Who is she, Mel?"

"Edward and I found her in the woods two days ago. She'a mage and a healer."

"She's a descendant, too."

"What?" two voices exclaimed together.

"I can smell it on her. I thought it was just you at first, but your smells must've been mixing until now. She's realated to Mordred Darkthrop. You two are practically cousins." Stella and Mel look at eachother. The vampress furrowed her brows. "There is no time for more foolishness. We need to leave for Harburg, and we'll be waiting at Harburg Keep. Take this map. I've made a cross at the Dwarven Kingdom. Naylith is close to it. Good luck." Te'ijal and Galahad hurried out of the estate. "Oh, and if you find sun screen, bring it to us, rabbit." she said as she closed the door.

"We're related." Stella couldn't believe it.

"I guess we are…"

"Hmm, I've never had relatives before. This will be fun." Mel looked at her a bit confused. But she decided to let it go. She had a cousin. Go figure.


	5. The forest and the inn

_Hello, Zuko here :D  
Just wanted to say that this is generally centered around Mel/Edward (and is short... like the previous one, which was Mel/Stella centered... sorry for the low amount of words) and I hope you like it. The longer and more 'game related' (or whatever you decide to call them) chapters are probably going to start coming back with the next one. _

"Face it, we're lost." They had stopped in the middle of the snowy road.

"We're not lost. We're right outside of Thais!"

"You said that same thing three hours ago! We're not even close, because, if you haven't noticed, we're in the goddamn Istir Forest!

"No one asked you to come!"

"I couldn't leave you all alone, what if you got hurt?"

"I would've been fine! Why do you care so much?"

"What do you mean _why do I care_?" their screams echoed around and each of them was soon lost amidst the trees. "How can I not care? You're the most important person in the world to me!"

"That's not true!"

"It is! You know it, you kissed me!"

"No, _you_ kissed _me_ first."

"You kissed me back! And then you did it again at your own will the following evening!"

"The next day you kissed me _twice_!"

"You gave me permission!" he shouted even louder. They both stopped, taking quick breaths, both their faces turning red from the cold and the anger. "Why is that such a problem with you, you stubborn woman?"

"Because I have no idea how to handle this!" her voice now hinted towards her sudden helplessness. "Because… I don't know where this is going."

"I thought we were taking it slow."

"Yeah, well I thought you just wanted a make out buddy!"

"How can you say that? If anything, I was scared that you were the one who only wanted someone to… you know…"

"Well, I don't just want that. I want something serious. But our situation confused me. One minute, we're kissing and then you're carrying an unknown girl out to the temple and-"

"Wait, you're confused because I helped Stella? If you haven't acknowledged the fact that she and my brother are-"

"I know! But that was my initial response to the situation! There we were, having a nice morning and then Stella's in the meteor site and you just immediately rush her off-"

"I was helping her!"

"I realize that now, okay?! But afterwards, when I came back with your brother and you kissed me again, I… I felt confused even more. I wasn't sure what you were feeling about me."

"To be frank with you, I'm not sure what _you _feel about me, either. And Stella is your best friend now, how can you even think of still being jealous?"

"I wasn't!" she shouted in an unconvincing voice. "And I'm not now. I just care about you, but I think that despite everything you say, eventually you'll just take it all back and leave me behind."

"My god, Mel!" he chuckled as he came closer to her. "I've told you so many times how important you are to me… and you still don't get it." He started leaning against her, making her step back and soon, she was pinned by him to the nearest tree.

"Well…" she gulped, looking up at him, her eyes settling on his lips. "I guess I never really paid attention…" her heart started racing, she felt him tightening his grip around her.

"Do I have to repeat it again?" he asked her softly.

"N-no, I just-"her voice was lost before she could finish her words, as Edward's lips were close to her left ear. His warm breath sent shivers all over her body.

"_You are the most important person in the world to me._" He whispered slowly and then moved his head, so that his mouth was almost touching Mel's. But he didn't kiss her. Instead, he suddenly loosened his grip and the girl was no longer pinned to the tree. Her cheeks were flushed. She was expecting something different. Edward turned around and started walking. "We have to find our way back to the entrance of the forest." He called to her. "Stella and Lowel are probably worried."

"But how will they know-"

"We've been gone for nearly five hours because you said you needed to go back to Chateau Lenore to get your wine money for the delivery. We were supposed to be back by now, but thanks to _somebody_, we got lost and followed the wrong road." He seemed completely unaffected by what had just occurred at the tree. She got mad at him for implying that she was had a bad mental compass, but didn't speak. Instead, she just walked with him in silence for a few minutes until they finally found a path that supposedly let to the main entrance, where a wooden road would be standing, showing them the way back to Gheledon.

Passing the Thial Mountains wasn't hard. They hid from the harpies, until the one that blocked their entrance to the dwarven city, along with her three fellow wyverns, didn't seem fooled. Edward and Mel cut them to pieces, both sweaty and exhausted from the fight afterwards. They entered the cave, breathing heavily.

"Remind me no never…" Mel started saying but before she could finish, she passed out, Edward catching her so she doesn't hit the ground. He was tired from the walking, fighting and from the fact that they hadn't eaten in so long, but he picked her up and carried her to the inn, which was thankfully almost at the main entrance of Gheledon. The boy reached the bulding, still carrying Mel in his harms as he went inside.

"Excuse me," he said to the lady in front of the giant oak stump that to him was supposed to serve as a desk. "Me and my … girlfriend" he hoped she wouldn't suddently wake up "need a room to stay in."

"Certainly. Any preferences?"

"Err, yes. Next to the room of the other couple we came here with to the city: a purple haired girl and a tall, blonde guy?" holding Mel was starting to make his arm muscles ache even more. He needed to sleep as soon as possible.

"Strange… I would've remembered if you two had come in _here_. But the couple has reserved a room at the inn, you are correct. Here's a key to the room two doors to the left away. It's the only free one we have on the second floor." She handed him a small rusty key, smiling kindly. He reached out over the counter, still holding Mel, and stretched his fingers out as much as he could, catching it.

"Thank you. Oh, and we didn't actually come to the…on second thought, nevermind. Thanks again." He started climbing the stairs carefully, telling himself that if he dropped the girl of his dreams down by accident, he would have to go back to his parents explaining how he has supposedly chosen a wife, _but she had fallen down the stairs at an inn in the Dwarven Kingdom. _Edward reached the room, struggling with the lock until it finally clicked, letting him inside. With great relief that he and Mel could finally rest, he laid her onto the double bedroom cautiously and locked the room as he left. He was drained from this day already, but one final task was upon him. He knocked on what he guessed was his brother and Stella's room, hearing a gigglish 'Come in' as an answer.

"Hey, Ed!" Lowel jumped out of the bed, where a blushing Stella was sitting, her dress' shoulder-straps almost down, revealing something that Edward had no particular desire to gaze upon. His brother pushed him out of the room, closing the door behind them. He looked at his brother from head to toe. "Where have you been? I was getting worried!" he whispered.

"Yeah, I can see." Edward nodded towards the room with raised eyebrows.

"Well, we were eventually going to-"

"Of course you were." he said with a sarcastic, yet exhausted tone. "But what the hell, man, you've known her for a week!"

"She's twenty-two, that's a just a year younger than me." Lowel defended.

"That doesn't mean-"

"Did you come here for something important or to just judge me, little brother?"

"I just wanted to tell you that Mel and I are really tired and we're probably going to be sleeping for the rest of the day, so don't disturb us. You would not like to see Mel enraged after not getting enough sleep, trust me."

"Mind if I ask what happened?"

"Yes, I do, very much. It doesn't matter right now."

"Fine. Have it your way. Is that all?"

"Yeah. Oh, wait!" he remembered as he was just about to step back to his room "Do you guys have any food with you?"

"No."

"We'll just have to buy some tomorrow then." Edward mumbled.

"Goodbye, Eddie." Lowel went inside his room, closing the door.

* * *

"Mel, you can thank me for all of this later." The boy said quietly as he took off Mel's clothes, only leaving her T-shirt and underpants on and tucked her with the bed sheets. He could then finally start paying attention to himself. His muscles hurt. Soon, his clothes were also off, only his under-vest and underwear shorts remaining on his body. Without a second thought, he lied on the free side of the bed and covered himself with what was left of the blankets. _Both_ of them were now asleep, Mel slowly developing a silent snoar as her dreaming got deeper.

* * *

She started waking up, feeling a slight pain in both her legs and a part of her waist. She was surprised to be in her underwear, nestled in warm blankets. And more importantly, she did not expect to be waking up in _his_ arms.

Mel jumped in shock, pushing his chest slightly with her left hand. His forehead wrinkled as he was startled, but he then opened his eyes, only to be just as surprised to be under Mel as she was.

"What did you do?" she asked quickly.

"I hope you had a nice sleep." Edward mumbled sleepily.

'Why am I in my underwear? Did you undress me? What happened?" Mel damanded answers that he was still too tired to answer at the same speed.

"We managed to get to the city, but you passed out, so I carried you here and took your clothes off."

"And you just happened to decide to hug me as we were sleeping?" her face was starting to go red.

"I guess I did. I don't remember doing it when I went to bed though." He knew that she wouldn't give up until she knew every detail of what had occurred, so he sat up, leaning against the wooden wall behind the bed.

"So, nothing happened?"

"We were fighting a stupid harpy and her minion wyverns, you fainted, because you were obviously exhausted, with the _getting lost in Istir _and not eating and everything. I told you, I carried you here. And my arms hurt now."

"Hey!" she protested.

"No, no. I just meant… I was tired enough as it is, and holding you for a long time kinda starts aching. It's like that with anything." She kept on pouting, but she wasn't upset.

"Well, thank you. I owe you one." She leaned over and kissed him hard on the mouth, pressing his head against the wall even more. "God, I've been waiting for that since the forest." She pulled away and he grinned at her, but as he was still tired, it didn't look like he was extremely satisfied, even thought he felt thrilled.

"Go back to sleep." He said to her, stretching his head a bit to kiss her back quickly.

"I was a lot more used to not eating, you know, at the chicken farm. Now that I've moved to Thais, the city has made me soft with its food supply. I've lost my ability to be agile without-"he kissed her again, cutting off her sentence.

"Go back to sleep." Edward repeated and laid down again.

"I love you." She mumbled as she nestled her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"What did you just say?"

"Fuck's sake, you heard me, you idiot." She pinched his sides with her thumb and index finger.

"I love you, too." He told her and they both soon started dreaming again, sleeping happily in eachother's arms.


	6. Naylith Summit

They walked out into the sun that shone over Naylith summit. The northern area was much hotter than Mel had remembered it two days ago. Sure, the south of the mountains was bound to be humid and burning hot, but she had no idea that it would still be warm so far up north. Stella walked along her side, in front of the group.

"How was your sleep?" she said quietly, almost with a whisper, and winked at her.

"It was fine, Stell." Mel held back a grin and instead, smiled nervously.

"Come on, Mel. You can tell me. We're practically related."

"You're my 7th cousin. We're not even as close as I originally thought."

"Fine, maybe not linear cousins, but we're still descendants of-"

"Don't." Mel cut her off and waved her hand through her hair like she was chasing away a fly.

"You have to accept it."

"I've started this mission, haven't I? I think accepted it well so far."

"Fine, Mel."

The group walked in silence for a while. Edward and Lowel suddenly caught up with the girls, standing on both their sides.

"So, Mel, how far away is this Naylith place anyway?" the older brother asked as he put one arm around Stella's shoulders, making her blush.

"It should be close." She replied quickly. "Actually," she took out the world map from her bag and examined it. "I think it should be just over that bridge." The party crossed carefully, as the bridge was not as stable as it was believed to be. Once they were on the other side, they stopped to look around.

"We're here." Edward said.

"That's not possible."

"It is, Mel, look. The map says that Naylith is right here."

"But there's _nothing _here."

"Except for that birdcage." Lowel pointed and the group turned to see a giant golden cage on the highest rocky platform in the area. Half-destroyed stairs led up to it.

"So, now what?" Mel asked.

"I think this is the point where you explain why we're here."

"What?" she faced Edward with a confused expression.

"Why are we here, Mel? It can't really be because Stella's a Naylithian."

"How do you know?"

"Because Naylithians have wings, Mel! Are you going to tell us what's going on now?" The two girls looked at eachother, worried. They knew they shouldn't have lied and kept it a secret for so long.

"We're looking for The Orb of Light. It's said to be in Naylith so we needed to find it." Mel began.

"What?" the brothers spoke in sync. "What orb are you talking about?"

"I guess I have to start from the beginning. Before I came to Thais I lived in Harburg. I was a thief. One night, I got a job to retrieve an orb from a place called Darktrop Keep-"

"You told me you were an orphan from a chicken farm in the plains!" Edward exclaimed.

"I lied."

"Wait, you told me where you were from the day we met. Why didn't you tell him?" Lowel asked, making Mel even more nervous.

"You told him and _not me_?"

"I thought I'd never see _him _again and I had to lie to you because I didn't want you to know that I was a thief when I started at the Academy! But that really doesn't matter now!" she yelled at them. "I'm a descendant of Mordred Darkthrop and Stella is too! The orb I was supposed to retrieve was _my _family heirloom. A vampire, named Gyendal, fooled me into giving it to him. And now he's going to enslave humanity if we don't find the other fucking orb!" she continued shouting in their puzzled faces, while Stella stood aside with a scared expression. "Gyendal wanted to use me, but I was saved by his sister, Te'ijal. And later on she helped me escape to Thais. When I came to the city I had no genuine idea what was happening. All I knew was that I needed to go to the Academy and wait for her until she came back. Then things just collided into a chain reaction. I got to Thais. I met Lowel. Later on, I started at the Academy. And then six months passed by so quickly… It was the happiest time of my life. But when we found Stella everything changed again. About a week ago, Te'ijal and her husband Galahad came to Thais. They were in my apartment. Fuck, I was so glad to see them. Before I got home I was attacked." she rolled up the sleeve of her right arm, revealing the scar. "By Gyendal's henchmen."

"I thought that was from that little boy's dog-"Edward began.

"I couldn't possibly tell you that I was ambushed by vampires the night before, could I? You wouldn't believe me." She let the sleeve fall back down. "We need to find the Orb of Light. Te'ijal and Galahad are waiting for us." The boy looked at her, confused and angry at the same time.

"How stupid do you think I am?" he asked, rasing his voice with each word.

"What?" she stepped back, surprised.

"Everything you've been telling me so far has been a pack of lies! Followed by more lies! How long did you think you could keep this up!?"

"Edward, I'm not fucking making it up-"

"Oh, come on! A vampire is out to get _you_, but his _sister_ saves you?! That doesn't make any sense! Stella, did you take part in this?" he turned to the purple haired girl, who blushed at being included into the conversation.

"I was there…I healed her arm. The vampires are real, Edward. Te'ijal's actually a really nice person-"

"Are you serious?!"

"Hey, Ed, listen, maybe-"

"Shut up, Low! Don't you see? They've been lying to us! All this time. About everything."

"I'm not lying!" Mel shouted at him. "Why would I lie to you about something like this?"

"I don't know, maybe you decided it would be a nice prank."

"For fuck's sake, Edward!"

"Just tell me… did you lie last night?"

"What-"

"When you told me you loved me! Did you lie about that?" Mel was thunderstruck. Her eyes widened.

"… How can you even ask me that? Of course I didn't! I _can't_ lie about things like that! I've never told anyone else that I've loved them! I couldn't possibly lie even if I tried!" tears were starting to form in the bottom of her eyes. He looked at her, his mind going contemplating. 'Why would she do that? After all the time we've spent together…'

"I just don't understand why you had to make all of this up." He said quietly, turning to leave, grabbing Lowel's arm. His brother followed without questioning him, not even saying goodbye to Stella.

"Lowel!" she called out after him but he didn't acknowledge her. The girl turned to Mel, who was now sobbing quietly, her head bowed down.

"I'm not making it up!" Mel suddently shouted at the figures walking away in the distance.

"Don't cry…" Stella held her by the shoulders, not certain of what she should do. "I'm sure he won't be upset for long. You know he's just moody-"

"I don't need your comfort, Stell." She snapped at her, pulling away from her grip.

"I'm sorry-" the girl started, but Mel quickly realized that she's not the one to blame. She only had herself to blame for deceiving everyone.

"Don't. It's not your fault. _I'm_ sorry that I snapped like that." She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. "I'll sort this out when we get back to our rooms in Gheledon. We still haven't looked around this place. It's why we came, right?" Mel gave her a crooked smile.

"If you say so." Stella smiled back.

The two walked up the stairs to the birdcage. It was large and golden, with strange details crafted into each bar.

"It's big enough to fit about seven people." Mel noted as she walked around it.

"Err, Mel?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you should see this."

Stella was standing at the edge of the platform, looking down at a few giant cracks in the rocky wall behind the bird cage. Mel joined her, puzzled.

"What is it?"

"Those cracks on the wall. They're way too wide." Stella jumped and landed gracefully on the ground. "Nothing's gonna happen if you jump, Mel. If you look around, you'll notice that this was just hidden in our sight before, it's actually right around the corner of the platform. Come down here."

"Fine." The girl sighed. She followed the jump, but instead landed on her left ankle and kneeled on the ground. "Shit!"

"I'll fix it!" Stella hurried to her and put her palms on Mel's skin. Healing light emitted from her hands and soon, the girl could walk again.

"Thanks. I'd be lost without you." Mel got up and patted herself, cleaning the dirt from her travelling clothes.

"Listen, I think there's a cave behind this. We just need something to…. blow it up."

"Well, I think there's a dwarf merchant in Gheledon. We should go back and check it out."

* * *

"How much for the dynamite sticks?"

"90 gold."

"This better be worth it, Stella." Mel said as she handed some coins to the dwarf standing in front of her. She grabbed the wrapped package from the table next to her and turned to leave, when the door to the shop opened.

"Mel?"

"Oh, Lowel…"

"What are you doing here?"

"We're going to blow up some rocks to reveal a secret cave." She managed to squeeze through the door and pass him. "Tell Edward I said hi."

"He's at the inn. I guess he's had enough fighting for one day. Can I come with you?" he asked as Stella turned to follow Mel, but was caught in his arms instead.

"Whatever." Mel replied and started walking back to the city exit that led to Naylith. The couple quickly followed, Stella being her normal blushy self, and Lowel, happy enough to walk with the healer, hand in hand.

* * *

"I wanted to tell you that Edward's really sorry about how he … snapped earlier."

"I'm sure he is."

"No, really, Mel-"

"Lowel, listen." The girl turned around to face him. "Whatever it is we need to say, we'll talk later. For now, I just want to blow something up, okay? I don't want to be enraged with two people today, so shut it."

"Okay, okay." Mel got back to un-wrapping the dynamite. After a minute, she was holding out two red sticks in her hand.

"What do I do now?"

"Let me." Stella stepped forward to her, grabbing the explosive. "These are pressure-activated. You just have to throw them hard enough and-"she quickly aimed them at the cave, the sound effects of the blow soon echoing around Naylith "…boom." She added after the dust and black powder that followed the explosion vanished. Mel coughed.

"Thanks for the tip." She said with a smirk. Stella was the first to go inside the cave, anxious to what she might find. Lowel and Mel went in after her.

"How quaint…" the healer said as she stepped further. She soon noticed a stone pedestal with a book over it in a corner. Quickly, the girl got to it and started reading the page on which it was opened. Mel tried to sneak a peak behind her shoulder, but she had no idea what the writing said.

"I don't understand this. It's written funny." She noted.

"I think I do. It speaks of the 'Four Quarter Keys'. We need them to unlock the path to Naylith."

"What keys is it talking about?"

"Hey, ladies, there's a map here." Lowel called to them from another side of the cave. Both stepped away from the book and walked over to him. A slightly torn, dusty map was nailed to the cave wall, four red X's scratched over at random places on it.

"Maybe that's where these so called _Quarter Keys_ are." Mel got her map out. "I'll just copy those in here…"

"Sweetheart, where do you think those keys are supposed to go? I'm not betting on the cage."

"I think maybe… there should be somewhere in here…" Stella looked around the cave for clues, when she suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Lowel asked, trying to look in the same direction as her.

"Over there." She pointed at the carved bird silhouette in the wall at the end of the cave. "There's a circle under the bird. It's got slots."

"What's the bird for?" Mel asked, joining in on their discovery.

"I don't know. But there's a birdcage outside, it's got to be important."

"Well, if we want to get these keys, go to Naylith, get the orb and defeat that evil son of a bitch, then I suggest we head on back now and get going to Harburg first thing tomorrow." She turned around, walking quickly. 'I'm hungry and angry and tired. Not a good mix.' She thought.

* * *

"Mel, take it easy, okay?" Lowel said as they reached the second floor.

"I should be telling you two that." She whispered, hoping they wouldn't hear. "I'm fine."

"I know, just…don't tear the place down."

"Goodbye, Stella. Goodbye, Lowel." She replied with an ironic smile as she opened the door to her room and closed it behind her.

"Mel?" Edward mumbled and got up from the floor when she walked in.

"You're still here? I thought you'd be getting your own room since you probably wouldn't want to share one with a liar."

"I'm sorry."

"What? You're sorry? So what? Everything is back to normal now?"

"Lowel… he convinced me to believe you."

"It's nice to know that you and your brother are getting along, but it would be nice if you believed me all by yourself for once, Edward."

"I know, I know, and-"

"How could you say that?!" she suddenly shouted out at him. "How could you possibly fucking think that I would lie about loving you? It's hard enough for me to have admitted it to myself; do you have any idea how strange it was to hear myself actually say it out loud like that!?" it was her turn to shout at him now. "It's true, we haven't known eachother for that long and I did lie to you many, many times… but I only did it because I still couldn't trust you completely! At least not until you kissed me that day on the pier."

"Wait, how does that-"

"It suddenly made everything confusing for me. I wanted to kiss you back. And for a moment I gave in. But then I thought it wasn't a good idea. I was _confused_. I'm always confused about us. Later, though, I figured that if I was really going to spend so much time thinking about it, then it must be worth it. And if that was true, then I must somehow _trust you_ enough to care about what happens afterwards. When you two caught me and Stella leaving the city that morning, I lied because I still didn't feel ready. It had built up for so long… but I guess it doesn't matter anymore. You think I'm making it all up."

"I don't… Me and Lowel talked about it after I… yelled at you, for which I'm really, really sorry. But I do believe you now."

"What did he say that changed your mind so _drastically_?" she snapped.

"He said that…if I really love you then I should stand by you, always." Mel gulped. She could feel the familiar sting in her eyes again, but she shook her head and pushed it back inside. "I love you, okay?"

"You're such an idiot, you know that?" she chuckled, feeling the anger suddently start to leave her and pushed him onto the bed.

"I've been told." He replied, and stood up his elbows, not sure of what was happening.

"This thing between us is a giant flaming ball of confusion, isn't it?" she leaned over, so that she was now standing on top of him, her face an inch away from his.

"It doesn't have to be."

"No… it doesn't." Mel pushed herself onto him in a hard kiss. The rolled on the bed and when they broke it off, Edward was lying on top of her. She grinned at him. "But it's always going to." she lifted her head up and kissed him again.

* * *

_Oh glob, I don't even... I'm sorry about this chapter, I know it's a bit weird. But I promise I will try to write better in the next ones. If you have an opinion on it, let me know if you have the time, because I want to know if this is any good in anyone else's head besides mine (honestly, I'm not even sure about that anymore). _


	7. Heading Out

_Good morning, Greendale!  
I wanted to start off by apologizing to absolutely anyone who ever reads this, because it took me so long to actually finish this chapter with the last sentence. I am really sorry. I got a bit caught up because I have been reading WAY too many Sakura/Sasuke fics and I rarely opened my writing folder.  
I know, I'm a fail.  
And this chapter doesn't even make sense to me.  
I'm so sorry *Michael Scott face*_

* * *

"How long is this going to take?" Edward asked, gripping tightly onto the rope.

"What does it matter?"

"Don't we have to leave Gheledon soon?"

"We don't have to be in Harburg for another week."

"Yeah, but… I'm not enjoying this." He grunted.

"Get over it, you _prince_." Mel steadily sped up, almost managing to pass by him and get higher. "You're the one who wanted ALL of us to do this. The training was originally for _me_ only."

"I figured…it wouldn't… be fair…" he took a breath between each pull, his hands burning.

"Well, I don't think your brother needs any more lessons." She nodded over to Lowel, who was climbing up the uncomfortable rope with such ease that it made her jealous.

"He trained…when he was younger. Now he's just showing off…for Stella."

"I doubt that's really the reason. They're already pretty entwined with eachother as it is." The girl finally found a pace that she could keep up to, but soon she started to feel her hands slipping, getting red from the rough material. "How are you holding up?"

"Ugh, well-"Edward started, but the words stopped coming out of his mouth when his foot didn't catch onto the rope and he was falling down. After seconds he grabbed ahold again, but he was so close to the ground that it now seemed pointless. 'I'm done.' He thought and looked up at Mel, who was still clutching tightly. "Come down!" he shouted to her.

"No way! You and Stella gave up and your brother's all Mr. Macho over there, I'm not gonna stop now!" she yelled back. "Even if I can't feel my palms anymore." She added quietly to herself.

"I'm not leaving until you get down from there, you know!"

"Then you're going to be here a long, _long_ time, Edward!"

"Fine, I will!" he let go of his rope and stood on the ground, taking deep breaths to regain his normal heartbeat. "Stella, are you staying?"

"Oh. Well…no. I'd rather go back to the inn and sleep."

"But you barely even-"

"I said I wanted to sleep, okay?" she snapped at him, her cheeks turning red.

"O-okay…calm down. I didn't mean anything by that." 'But I know what you meant by sleep.' The thought invaded his head and he tried to chase away the images that found their way into his mind from a few days ago.

Lowel and Mel were still climbing up the ropes, but after a while, he decided that he'd had enough for one day and started sliding down. Apart from his feet hurting, he was perfectly fine, which caused Mel to be even more envious of him. She kept on trying to reach the top, but it seemed that it was a long way away from her reach.

"She really wants to learn to climb, doesn't she?" Lowel said as he joined his brother and Stella, who were looking up at Mel with puzzled expressions.

"Well, she also _needs_ to. If you remember clearly, Professor Grey told her to. This is the first Guild we've found; I just hope she doesn't decide to drop the whole 'training outside of school' mission afterwards."

"By the looks of it, she's not going to give up that easy."

"I know her, she most definetly isn't."

"Do you want to go now, sweetheart?" the older brother turned to Stella.

"Oh! Yes, yes." She quickly grabbed his arm and led him away, waving to the other two as they left. "Do you think he's really going to wait all day for her?" the girl asked when they had exited the building, heading towards the inn.

"I think he's willing to wait a whole lifetime for her." Lowel answered as him and Stella hurried off through the dwarf city.

An hour had passed since the couple had left. Edward was still standing in the same spot, gazing up at the younger girl who was already almost at the top. She was panting and her knees were killing her, but letting go now would make her feel even worse. She had no idea where this dedication was coming from.

Mel was so focused on not falling, that she didn't even notice how she was quickly starting to slip down. When she came to her senses and Edward's voice suddenly rang in her ears, it was too late. She had fallen on her back, but was still clutching onto the rope.

"Shit." She managed to mumble before she lifted herself up into a sitting position.

"Mel, are you okay? Do you feel anything broken or bruised?" the boy had ran to her and was now standing on his knees by her side.

"Yeah, _my dignity_." She replied, trying to stand up. "And my ass."

"Let me help you." he reached out to lift her in his arms, but she pushed him away.

"I don't want your help. I can get up by myself." Soon enough she was on her feet, but she couldn't help but grimace at the pain she felt in her lower back. "Argh!" she cried in pain, grabbing her own waist. "Fuck." The girl hissed.

"Mel… come on, let me carry you." Edward stretched his arms out, hoping she would agree to his offer.

"Forget it, I'm not going to- FUCK!" she shouted as she felt another painful wave pass through. "…get carried to the inn for the second time this week."

"But you're hurt!"

"I'm fine." She said. Slowly, she started walking to the exit of the training room. But the pain was too strong. After a minute she collapsed on the floor and cursed loudly again. Edward took matters into his own hands. He caught up to her and lifted her in his arms, one supporting her back and the other, placed between the back of her knees. Of course she protested. She punched his chest for a short while, but gave in soon enough, knowing that there was no point anymore. "Idiot." She said under her breath as he carried her out of the Training Agency.

"And idiot that you love." He looked at her, noticing how her face quickly turned pink.

"Yes… and idiot that I love." Mel mumbled. "But an idiot nonetheless." She added loudly.

"If you say so."

"Are you taking me to Stella?"

"Not right away."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't just barge in her room while she's with Lowel and ask her to heal your backbone!"

"Why not?" she looked up at him.

"You know why, Mel. Don't make me say it out loud."

"Buzzkill." She crossed her arms whilst he carried her into the inn.

"_You'_re the one who fell on her ass! Literally!" Edward said a little too loud and the dwarven woman behind the giant stump lifted her head from the paperwork she was filling out and gave them a concerned look.

"You two kids getting into trouble again? Need me to open the door for you and your girlfriend, mister?" the boy froze, dreading Mel's reaction to being called his 'girlfriend'.

"Yes, thank you. My _boyfriend_ and I were climbing and I fell, so he, of course, carried me here… because I'm his _girlfriend_." Mel said with a sly grin on her face, emphasizing on the two words that she and Edward were described in.

"Alright." The short woman got up from her chair and trutted towards the door that led to the stairs. "There you go. Be more careful, you silly humans."

"Again, thank you. My _boyfriend and I _will be extremely careful next time." After that, the girl was silent until the door to their room was opened and she was carefully placed on the bed. She winced when her backside made contact with the soft blankets, but when she turned to lay on her left arm, it slightly faded. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked when Edward was about to leave the room.

"To get Stella. If she isn't asleep, at least."

"But you wouldn't dare leave your _girlfriend_ while she's in pain, would you, nobleman?"

"Mel-"

"I'm not your girlfriend, Edward. And more importantly, if I am, why wasn't _I_ the one to know first? Why did I have to find out from the _innkeeper?_"

"When you fainted in front of the entrance a few days ago and I carried you, I just made that up because it wouldn't be oh-so-normal if I was randomly carrying an unconcious girl, all covered in sweat and harpy blood. Do I really need to explain to you in full detail _why_ it would seem strange?"

"Fine..." she grunted, breathing out heavily. "Although, I like being called your 'girlfriend_'_"

"Then why did you just complain about it?!" he looked at her in desbelief and a slight rush of anger passed through him.

"To piss you off." She chuckled and hissed when the pain in her back suddenly struck her.

"You're maddening." Edward breathed out. "I'm going to see if Stella's available. Please try to not hurt yourself while I'm gone. You do it way too often as it is."

"It's not my fault… I'm on a mission to fight off a fucking vampire that wants to rule the entire human race; do you expect me to come out of it without a scratch?"

"Nothing would honestly make me happier at this point." He said and closed the door as he left.

* * *

"I can walk, you idiot." Mel smacked Edward's hand away as he tried to help her up from the bed the next morning. At her own pace, she got up and stretched carefully. "Good as new."

"I know Stella healed you, but I'm still worried. Be careful."

"Always am, Eddie." The girl yawned as he looked at her.

"Of course you are, Melody." He smirked and crossed his arms.

"Shut up." Mel pushed his chest, but he didn't move even an inch backwards. "Put some pants on. And you don't have to wake up before me every day and wait for me so that you can help me get up. It's kind of disturbing to think that you'd do that." She turned around to take her clothes from the nightstand, where they lay in a giant ball. Instead of leaving her alone, Edward got closer. Her grabbed her waist with his hands and placed a kiss on the right side of her neck. "W-what are you doing?" she stuttered, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Nothing." The boy replied as he pulled her even closer and wrapped his arms tightly around her belly. Instead of protesting, Mel impulsively tilted her head back so that it was now nestled in his neck. She looked up at him whilst he leaned in to kiss her shoulder.

"What are you doing, Edward?" she said, failing to surpress a smile.

"Nothing!" he answered in a completely innocent-like manner and continued to trace kisses on her neck. "I'm just … exploring."

"I know what you're doing, little prince. You're trying to seduce me, aren't you?"

"If you knew the answer, why did you ask?"

"If you were _really_ doing nothing, why did you confirm my suspicions?" she raised her right eyebrow.

"Touche." Suddenly, his arms left her waist and his shoulder was no longer cradling her head. She grunted at the quick change of feeling.

"Why did you stop?" she turned around to be face-to-face with him. Her nose was a few inches away from his.

"You just healed from an injury. If this goes any further, I don't want to injure you or anything. I was just acting without thought, I guess… sorry."

"I'm fine! My _backside_ is not going to suffer from-"Mel was cut off by the knock on the door.

"Yeah, I'm looking for an old married couple. Their names are Mel and Edward Pendragon, are they home?" Lowel's voice came from the hallway.

"It's open, Low." Edward replied with his back still facing the wooden door. His brother pushed the handle and came into the room with a grin on his face, but he froze the moment he saw Mel wearing nothing but chest bindings and velvet brown underwear.

"Oh, shit, sorry!" he snapped his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. "Sorry, Mel, I didn't mean to-"

"No, really, it's fine. You can open your eyes." She reassured him. "Actually, you came at the perfect time"

"I did?"

"In your opinion, if I had just recovered from an injury to my backside, do you think it would be a safety hazzard to have sex right now?" Mel didn't take her eyes of Edward as she asked the question. The brothers' faces turned red at the sudden tension of the topic and Edward grimaced at her in both anger and despair.

"Err…n-no. I suppose n-not." Lowel tried to answer without looking anywhere but the floor, afraid of the consequences that a glance in any other direction could create.

"See? Your brother says it's fine. And you want to do it, too. I _know _you do." The girl crossed her arms and leaned back, smirking.

"Can we not talk about this in front of him?"

"Why should he be embarassed, he does it all the time with Stella!"

"Mel…"

"This is making me really uncomfortable." Lowel mumbled whilst rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes continued to examine the wooden floor, unable to find any answers on it.

"Leave it to both of you to be able to become Sword Masters but still get uncomfortable talking about sex." She sighed."What is it that you came here for, Lowel?"

"I, err…just wanted to tell you that we're going to have breakfast downstairs in a few minutes. I also thought it would be a good idea to head out afterwards. We kinda have to get to Harburg soon, right?"

"Yeah. Okay then. We'll be with you in a few minutes."

"Bye, Mel." He shut the door behind him quickly and then hurried down the hall.

"Now." the girl turned to Edward. "For fuck's sake, get dressed." She rolled her eyes and turned around to the nightstand again, where she grabbed her clothes and stompted away to the other side of the room. The boy watched her as she put her shorts and blouse on, but didn't say a thing. "Did you go deaf? Get dressed!" Mel reached for some pants that were lying on the ground and threw them at him.

"You don't have get so angry about every single thing I do… or don't." He grabbed the item of clothing before it hit his face and started putting it on.

"I would be easier if you didn't do stupid things all the time."

"Caring about your well-being isn't stupid."

"No, not having sex with me because you think you might injure me is stupid! Stella healed me, I'm fine!"

"I was just being impulsive before! I can't do it if you don't want it, that's not right!"

"But I do!"

"I know you're probably telling the truth, but really think on it. You change your mood faster than some chameleons change their disguise and I don't want you to feel like it's a mistake if it were to happen." He was standing two feet away from her, holding the pants she threw at him. "I'm dead serious about this."

"So am I, you idiot. I do a lot of things on a whim, Edward, but I don't dedicate to _that _out of impulse. Sometimes I actually form my words extremely carefully before I speak my mind." She smirked."Yes, this relationship still confuses me. It's always going to confuse me. And yes, my mood changes easily. My opinions don't. The only way to alter my opinion is to prove me wrong. I thought you were the type of person to alway stay cool and calm, and I was mistaken. I realized that after your outbirst at Naylith. So, when I tell you things, _believe me_, okay?" there was hint of exhaustion in her voice as she said that.

"Okay." He finally replied after a minute of agonizing silence.

She put a hand on his cheek and carressed it. After the frustration was lifted, he leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him by suddenly slapping him across the face.

"That's for being an idiot." He looked at her, puzzled. Before he could say anything, she got closer to him and grabbed his face in her hands, standing on her toe tips to give him a hard kiss on the mouth. "That's for getting back to your senses and listening to me."

"You're maddening." He sighed.

"You said that yesterday."

"You call me an idiot fifty times a day and I never object to that."

"That's because it's the truth."

"Saying you're maddening isn't a lie, either." She raised an eyebrow at his comment.

"Oh, you're such an idiot." Mel mumbled to herself. "But you're my idiot." Again, she lifted herself up on her toes and kissed him, earning a low groan from his throat.

* * *

"Ready to go?" Lowel asked eagerly as he got up from the group table and picked his leather bag from the chair.

"Yeah, it's about time. The sun's brightest at noon. We need to get out of the Thail Montains quickly and find a shelter for tonight. I know we should probably be faster, but the path to Harburg isn't that long, so we can afford to lose a day or two." Mel followed Stella and Lowel out of the inn dining room, along with Edward.

"How are you so sure about that?"

"Because, _boyfriend_, if you can't recall, I am _from_ Harburg. I spent a whole night walking through the woods to get from there to Thais because of that vampire jackass, Gyendal."

"Okay, okay, relax. Don't get mad." He got closer to her and whispered in her ear: "Even though you're pretty hot when you're fiesty." It made her grin and blush all at once.

"Idiot."

"I love you, too."

"Hey, sex maniac and her boyfriend! We're leaving?" Lowel and Stella were standing a few feet away from them, staring.

"You don't have to be so loud." Edward punched him in the arm. "In more ways than one, by the way." He mumbled to him with his mouth half-open.

"Your girlfriend's the one who asked me if I think you two should be having sex; I think we're way past the subtlety line, don't you?"

"I'm always going to be the one clueless when it comes to your and Mel's standards, apparently."

"You're fucking lucky to have a girl like her, moron."

"How is it that you're _my_ brother and not hers? You're a lot more like her than me. And since when is being with Stella not lucky?" Edward raised a brow at him as they walked out of the dwarven city.

"I never sait I wasn't lucky. Stella's extraordinary."

"Then what's your problem? What's with the sudden outbirst?"

"I was being honest. Mel's one of the most amazing girls to probably ever be born, so you better appreciate that. I may not feel like you do towards her, but I do love her, Ed."

"You…what?"

"As a little sister, of course, but, come on! You know me better than anyone. She first had me at 'erm'. And after, you know, it turned out she was head over heels for _you_ and not me, I let it go and decided that I shouldn't interfere."

"Gee, thanks. And you'd known her about three days in total; did you really expect her to be interested? I met her six months ago and I had no idea about her feelings towards me until last week."

"You and I are impulsive folk, Ed. Well, me, mostly. You have your moments, I suppose. I know I fall for a girl easily. I can't help that."

"I'm aware… honestly, I was surprised that you didn't just start making out with Stella the moment you met her. I saw the looks you gave her, Low." His older brother chuckled at the memory, putting his hands in his pocket.

* * *

"Are you okay this morning, Mel? Lowel told me about you and Edward having a feud earlier." Stella slid her arm through the one Mel had placed on one of her hips and walked along her side as they passed through the Thial Mountains.

"Ergh, that. It's nothing. I'm fine. Edward was being his usual self, an idiot, that's all."

"You shouldn't talk about him like that."

"Stell, I really don't care."

"Be nicer to him. I know you've got it in you."

"Trust me, I don't. Besides, he doesn't mind. Do you, Eddie?" she turned her head to the right to adress him.

"What?"

"You don't mind that I call you in idiot, right?"

"Ah…" Edward sighed.

"What? You _do_?"

"Yeah…yeah, no. Do whatever you like." He replied; his thoughts suddenly disturbed.

"See?" Mel raised an eyebrow at Stella.

"Oh, Mel." The purple haired girl put a thumb to her forehead and squinted her eyes.


	8. Lowel

The party walked through the forest as dusk fell. In those few moments, the sky was growing dark, with some soft red and yellow lines over the horizon. Mel stopped to look at the setting sun, leaving the rest to go along the path to Harburg as she gazed. 'I never thought I'd see the sky like this' she thought. It wasn't like she never noticed all the different ways the sun set. But now that she was closer to her home, it seemed like she'd been missing out on it for quite a while. Going back was both relieving and unpleasant at the same time.

"The sky's something different, isn't it?" she heard Lowel's voice in the semi-darkness. She nodded, knowing he probably couldn't see her. "You never see this in Thais. One of the many displeasures, I suppose." Mel chuckled.

"I still don't see how you can have any, being the king's son and all."

"That doesn't make the sun set in a certain way."

"I meant… how could you be unhappy? I thought nobles had everything they wished for. It's why I despise them." Lowel scowled.

"You always say exactly what you're thinking, don't you, Mel?"

"I see no reason as to why I shouldn't." she shrugged.

"I gave up on the noble life. I… I left it all for Edward, I thought _he _wanted it. Sleeping in the castle and eating the food from my father's kitchen is just a courtesy from him and my mother. Truly, everyone is mad at me for leaving my _responsibilities _behind."

"But Edward-"

"He's angry. He's furious. He doesn't want the throne. And by law, he shouldn't be able to have it. But I burned the royal documents. That way I could be put off the list of heirs." All Mel could do was look with widened eyes at her friend as the sun slowly made it less and less possible.

"You burned them? You hate being a noble _that_ much?"

"I guess you can say that. I didn't know Edward also did, though." Lowel let his head fall down and he stared at the ground, kicking a few pebbles as he stood. "I didn't concider the possibility that maybe _he _didn't want that life. It's my fault he's in this entire 'bride' mess."

'_That. Oh, how I want to forget that. The fact that Edward has to choose a bride to rule the kingdom with. The fact that if our relationship continues, he'd have to tell his parents. They don't know me. What would they think?' _It was the one thing she actually feared almost as much as she did her death to a vampire. Not receiving approval from the only two people she needed it from.

"So, Edward actually has no choice now… does he?"

"No." was all Lowel said as he raised his head to look at the sunset again.

"Your parents are going to hate me." Mel sighed.

"What?" he turned to her, his face stuck in complete shock. "Where did that come from?"

"If Edward and I ever…if he were to ever-"she began.

"You shouldn't care." He cut her off.

"What? Why?"

"Do you love him?" he asked bluntly, staring into what he hoped were her eyes and not something else shining in the distance.

"Of course I do…" she answered after seconds of mind blockage.

"Then _you shouldn't care_. Plus, my parents aren't the type of people who would neglect the fact that my brother worships you with every fiber of his being. Even if they did, he loves _you _too much to settle with _their _choise." '_Worships me? For what?' _

"I don't understand. What have I done to gain all that affection?"

"You were just being you. I told him already, the first time we met, you had me at 'erm'. Even if I fall in and out too easy I'll always think you're a great catch."

"You're a piece of work, Lowel Pendragon." The girl smirked at him. '_Friends. That's what we are. How funny. I didn't know friends talked so much' _she thought.

"Likewise... _Melody_." He emphasized her full name, knowing the effect it had on her.

"I'm going to kill Edward." She moaned as she quickly stomped off past Lowel.

"If you can find him."

"All of you seem to forget what I went through before I came to Thais, don't you? Come on, you twit." She gestured for him to follow her through the darkness, hoping half the party was still close.

Edward felt a firm fist bump his shoulder and he turned around to find himself in front of Mel, barely making out her figure.

"For a second there I thought you were going to scream." She teased with a smirk.

"Oh, you wish."

"I do, I really do." Mel chuckled and felt him reach for her right hand. "What are you doing?"

"I want to hold your hand, is that a crime?"

"No, but warn me first." She roughly grabbed onto him.

"Ow."

"Oh, you are so convincing." The sarcasm was accompanied with a poke to his armored chest.

"That really hurt." He pouted at her with exaggeration.

"Don't make me punch-"before she could finish her words, he had pressed his lips onto hers, feeling relief he didn't miss them in the darkness. "Oh." She whispered when Edward pulled away.

"You'll never get used to that, will you?"

"Never." She breathed before moving her hands at the back of his head and pulling him in for a rough kiss, moaning slightly when he pushed himself against her. She started taking small steps backwards, filled with a sudden longing. But when she felt like she couldn't breathe, Mel stopped, making Edward question the situation.

"Did I go too far again?"

"N-no, no." she stutterred before letting go of his hair and straightening her tank top. "I think I just…I don't want to get lost in the woods." She lied, turning her attention to the ground, pretending she could actually see most of it.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Let's go back to Stella and Lowel." He caught her right hand again and they slowly walked to the same path the party had taken earlier.

"Stell?"

"Over here." The couple turned in a few directions before spotting a ball of light shining over the healer. "Is Lowel with you?"

"I thought he caught up with _you_." Mel said. Her eyes widened when she heard a sudden scream. "It's okay. He's gotta be around- Lowel!" she shouted, not caring if a pack of wild wolves decided to attack at that moment. There was no reply.

"Lowel!" Edward joined in. The only one who didn't yell out his name was Stella. Instead, she enlarged the ball of light in her hand and turned to walk back the way they came. "Where are you going?"

"To find your brother, where do you think?" Stella replied, her usual gentle and light voice now louder and more firm. "Are you coming?"

"Of course we are." Mel replied and pulled Edward as she started catching up to their friend. _Shit, that is a quick mood change, Stell. _

"You don't even know where you're going."

"It doesn't matter!" the healer turned her head, flames in her eyes. "He's your brother, Edward! Don't you care about what might've happened to him?"

"I do…" the boy gulped, feeling slightly guilty for not being as worried as he felt he should.

"_Then help me find him_." she replied angrily.

"Stell, we're all worried." Mel joined in, putting a hand on her companion's shoulder. "Come on, he can't be that far."

* * *

_Okay, I am deeply sorry for being such a shit updater and for writing this super short chapter. And it's on a 'cliff-hanger'… or whatever it's called. If you can actually guess what's happening, I'll give you a low two (and if you get all my references, I'll give you a sassy cat squeeze). Just, I'm generally sorry because I don't update as often as I'd like. I start school on Monday, which just means everything is getting worse._

_My school life is like the plot of Dear John; it's okay on the first half (or in my case, the first 2 months) but then it's like the idea of the whole thing decided to go skiing on a snowy mountain without any actual skiis and got beat up in a rock along the way down._


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